Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, reported a steep year-over-year decline in third-quarter profitability as weaker trading activity reduced fee income across the industry. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell to $60 million from roughly $179 million a year earlier, a drop of about 66 percent. Total platform margin, the company’s preferred performance measure that replaces adjusted revenue and subtracts staking rewards paid to customers, declined 12 percent to $487 million.

Transaction volume across Payward’s platforms reached $353 billion in the quarter, down 30 percent from the prior-year period. The slowdown mirrored broader conditions in digital-asset markets, where lower participation has pressured fee-dependent exchanges. Despite the annual declines, results improved from the second quarter. Platform margin rose 12 percent sequentially from $436 million, and adjusted EBITDA climbed from $23 million. Transaction volume increased 22 percent from the prior quarter.

Market Share Gains Amid Lower Overall Activity

Payward increased its share of global spot trading to 6.5 percent in September, nearly double the 3.3 percent recorded a year earlier. The gain occurred even as overall market volumes contracted, indicating the company captured a larger portion of existing activity rather than benefiting from an expansion in industry throughput. The market-share figure focuses on spot trading on its platforms during the month, while the quarterly transaction total aggregates activity across spot, margin, equities, payments and certain derivatives products.

Customer metrics showed continued growth. Funded accounts, those holding a balance greater than zero, rose 37 percent year over year to 7.1 million. Billable accounts increased 74 percent to 1.5 million.

Shift Toward Asset- and Access-Based Revenue

The composition of platform margin continued to evolve away from pure transaction fees. Income tied to assets customers hold on the platforms, including staking-related services, and access to products and data accounted for 52 percent of total platform margin, up from 46 percent a year earlier. Margin from assets held rose 26 percent sequentially to $128 million and contributed roughly half of the quarter-over-quarter increase in overall platform margin. Margin from subscriptions, trader evaluations and other paid services climbed 59 percent to $125 million. The number of derivatives contracts generating per-contract fees increased 84 percent to 66 million.

Payward introduced the total platform margin metric this quarter to better capture the economics of its expanding services, including the deduction for staking rewards distributed to clients.

Acquisitions Broaden Business Beyond Spot Trading

Over the past two years the company has pursued acquisitions to diversify revenue streams that historically fluctuated with trading volumes. In 2025 it acquired futures broker NinjaTrader and proprietary trading firm Breakout. In May 2026 it completed the purchase of Bitnomial, a U.S.-regulated derivatives platform. In July it acquired Reap, expanding capabilities in stablecoin payments and card issuing. Breakout was included for the full third quarter. The company did not quantify the individual contribution of each acquisition to the period’s results.

New Product Roadmap Includes Prediction Markets and AI

Payward outlined further steps to reduce reliance on cryptocurrency trading fees. Plans include launching prediction markets for U.S. customers and offering equity perpetual futures through its regulated exchange, clearinghouse and broker once regulatory approvals are secured. The company also intends to issue its own token, though no timeline has been disclosed.

Its tokenized equities platform, xStocks, has expanded to cover more than 700 assets, with assets under management surpassing $1 billion and cumulative transaction volume exceeding $45 billion in some reports. Additional U.K. and European equities have been added, bringing the total ecosystem above 1,500 assets in certain disclosures. Further initiatives include investment funds built on the tokenized platform and a proposed blockchain-based fundraising vehicle for private companies, both subject to regulatory clearance.

Artificial intelligence has been designated a fifth business pillar alongside trading, banking, asset management and infrastructure services. The company is developing a personal finance agent designed to operate within user-defined limits, require explicit approval for trades or workflows, and maintain records of all actions. Proprietary models are expected to be trained on the firm’s trading, balances, payments, identity and risk data.

Banking expansion continues as well. An agreement to acquire Finnish firm Saldo Finance Oy, parent of a Lithuania-licensed bank, is targeted to close in 2027 pending approvals and would add deposit, lending and payment-card capabilities in European markets. Full regulatory approval was also secured in Dubai for cryptocurrency trading and related services in the United Arab Emirates.

IPO Timeline Remains Extended

Payward confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2025. Plans were later paused amid weaker market conditions. The earliest potential listing window under consideration has shifted to the second quarter of 2027. The company previously raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation.

The third-quarter figures illustrate both the impact of softer crypto trading conditions on core exchange economics and the progress of diversification efforts intended to generate more stable income from holdings, subscriptions, derivatives and new financial products.